After a hiatus of four years, the sibling duo of Alison and Jim Shaw have returned to present their latest incarnation of the Cranes, one that is decidedly different and yet immediately recognizable. Future Songs has the half-dreaming, half-drunk quality of an after-hours soundtrack; it’s for those who are seeking the post-lounge sounds of murmuring voices in dimly lit bedrooms where smoke and people simply drift. The foundation is a blend of electronic and acoustic instrumentation, something between the friendly folk strum of the Sundays and the eerily hushed hum of Bowery Electric. Alison’s kewpie-doll voice is at its best when she’s at her most disarmingly haunted, as on "Future Song" and "Sunrise." But her throat is so honeyed that the charm can and does wear a little thin over the course of an entire CD.